Books & Bakes

Books & Bakes is a dream come true. Each month I hold one or two at-home literary and food salons where people come to discuss a book that I’ve chosen.

I cook food — food that hopefully relates to the book we’ve read. We drink — or not — and talk for hours. We talk about the writer. We talk about the time period in which the book was written. We talk about the cultural context. We talk about the characters and the plot and whether we loved the book, hated the book or fell somewhere in-between.

We never talk about our children, our love lives or politics unless they have something to do with the book.

We don’t gossip.

We all love books and food. Some of us like to drink and others don’t.

Think Gertrude Stein and 27 Rue de Fleurus: Alice B. Toklas, Picasso, Hemingway, Matisse, Fernande Olivier, Marie Laurencin and Apollinaire, Sitwell and Fitzgerald. All gathered at one point or another to laugh and enjoy one another’s art and company.